Thanksgiving 2011

Well, the 2011 holiday season is upon us. How did we get here so quickly? I love this time of year, but it always seems to come and go so fast that I can hardly keep up! My summer and fall zoomed by so fast and now I find myself living in Kansas with some of the most wonderful people! That's what the Army does, it helps mold you into the best possible you by surrounding you with a diverse group; and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm thankful for many things, but mostly my friends and family! Our son visited from Hawaii, our daughter traveled (with our grandson) from Illinois, and my in-laws were visiting from NC for a month, yes I said a whole month! I also had a good friend travel from Colorado, and friends came from within Kansas to join us in a birthday celebration. My birthday was Black Friday this year.  I was born on Thanksgiving, so every 7 years it falls on Turkey day. Not that I necessarily celebrate birthdays for myself, but always like a reason to get together and have fun.

This Thanksgiving began like many others; 5 trips to the grocery store to be sure that I have everything and have the perfect menu. I love to cook and enjoy feeding people, it's a gift! Really! Before I could breathe it was Monday and we were picking up our son from the airport....wohoo!!! Now I can begin celebrating. Tuesday was spent laughing and getting caught up with all that he has going on in his life. We talk and text regularly, but some things just need to be told in person. Wednesday was here and was spent prepping all the food and trimmings for our meal. The day ended with our daughter and grandson arriving and then my friend from Colorado. This truly made me happy!!  The following events are typical for any family when you have a large amount of people getting together. I will leave out any names or possible relationships to prevent any further embarrasment but they are true, you can't make this stuff up:
Thanksgiving morning we had a wonderful breakfast and the morning was pretty uneventful. It was filled with laughter and the smells of all kinds of goodness. We talked about friends and family that we wished could join us, but so thankful that we were together...next year my husband will be deployed, so this was important. The rest of the day was filled with football ---Go Cowboys!(and they did)  food, desert, and adult beverages....lots of adult beverages. We then mosied over to a neighbors house who was hosting a get-together. I want to state here that I was overserved there, and I want my money back! OK, I didn't actually "pay" any money : /   but I did have a great time, so they tell me.
The next day I woke up to a yard full of plastic forks, streamers, banners, balloons, beer cans, wine & champagne bottles, boxes, and newspaper! It WAS a sight; a funny sight. Some people got together and decided that my yard needed to be "decorated" for my birthday. I will say that it truly made me feel completely welcome. I've been living in Kansas for only a month, but there are some fun and wonderful people here. Cheers to new friends and making memories!! Later on Friday a group of us went on a trail ride on horseback. It was a beautiful afternoon and the weather cooperated. It was pretty uneventful for the most part until about 2 hrs into it.....my horse (Sabre) decided that he didn't want to follow the others and go off on his own. I tried to get him back on track, but to no avail. The troopers came over to try and guide him down the steep trail....he wasn't having it-he wanted to go a different way. At this point I had gotten very nervous and decided that I would dismount and walk down while they got Sabre down the trail. After that small drama I remounted Sabre and we finished the trailride. When we got back to the stables someone (who will remain nameless) decided it was a good idea to mount a mule. Yes, I said a mule! Now this mule weighs 1,750 lbs and is 17 hands tall! This is a beast!!! I don't think I need to really tell you what happened next....feet & asses! That's what happened! This person was bucked off and landed (hard) onto the blacktop; this was followed by a visit to the emergency room. Thankfully there were no broken bones, just bruisesand broken egos. My question and answer is "Who gets on a mule.......A Jackass!!!"
Our friends from Kansas arrived for a get together that evening for birthday drinks and some social time.....of course we told the story about the jackass on the mule, only with a few drinks in us now, and it became funnier. I got to know my new friends a little better as they did me. I like to introduce myself slowly, I can be a lot to handle in one large dose ;) Some other events that happened that day (but not necessarily in this order) were: a friend cut her finger on my food processor blade (band-aid was sufficient), 2 guys were drunk by 6 (mind you I had people coming over at 7---this could go badly...lol), and I ended the evening hiding all the alcohol from the 2 drunks! Lots of profanity, I don't necessarily get all that profanity....it must have came out of the beer and they drank it! The 2 drunks decided that they would make scrambled eggs cooked in red wine...and yes! They ate it all! Disgusting I'm sure, cause it really stunk. They next morning was spent filling everyone's belly with breakfast and reminiscing about the last days. Nothing like making memories that will last forever. That's what the holidays and friendships mean to me!